Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
I've never known my life without hunger and thirst. In a moment where maybe I've been fasting, or I've gone a season where I haven't had all the food I've wanted or needed, I felt it—I felt that emptiness. When it's hot outside and I'm sweating, I'm thirsty. I need that water to re-energize me and keep me alive. A person can't go a few days without water. God built us that way because it's necessary for living.
What Jesus Is Really Saying
Jesus in this scenario is saying, if you come to Me, you won't be hungry or thirsty ever again. Is He saying to give up food and water altogether? I don't think so. I think He's using something so familiar to us to pull out a spiritual truth that we need to hold onto. If you've been in a situation before where you've turned to things to satisfy you—maybe it was a substance, or it was a website, or it was gambling—you filled something inside of you. In the moment it felt good. But after a while, the emptiness comes back and you feel emptier than you did before you acted. I've been there myself, and it hurts. There's a void inside of us that can only be filled by Jesus. That's what He's saying here. Over and over again we turn to the things we think will help us get through the day. But Jesus is saying, if you come to Me, that emptiness can actually be filled.
Full of the Good Stuff
It's like going to a restaurant and getting all the food you want. You're eating it up, it's good food, it's healthy food. Then they come to you with that one piece of cheesecake—you know it's not good for you, but you're full on the good stuff. You might want what's bad for you, but you're so full of the good that you have no more room. Think of that with Jesus. If you fill yourself to a point of being satisfied in Him and not needing anything else, the things that would take you down—there's no room for those things.
Now, I will say this, because addiction is a very real thing. You might find yourself in the midst of it, where that emptiness feels so normal to you, and hearing this Scripture kind of feels like a slap in the face. But maybe it's worth believing. I'm living proof that coming to Jesus in emptiness is the perfect opportunity for Him to step in. He wants to fill you—He wouldn't say this if He didn't want to.
Dare to Believe
Wherever you find yourself, dare to believe. Maybe you are deep in an addiction of some kind—dare to believe that Jesus means what He says. If you're looking for a way out, we have pastors on staff. Call us. We want to talk with you and pray with you and resource you so that you can begin the process of stepping out and being healthy. Maybe you aren't in addiction, but you feel a void and you don't know where else to turn. Turn to Jesus. He says, "I am the bread of life." He will satisfy you. Give Him a chance and He'll prove it to you.
